HOUSTON, Texas - The Nicholls State University softball team scored eight runs in the first inning and pounded out a season-high 13 hits to defeat UMass, 11-2, in a run-rule victory Sunday morning in the Colonels' finale in the Houston Classic.

The Colonels (6-5) fell in dramatic fashion to UMass (3-7) in Friday's 2-1 loss and took revenge by batting through the order in the opening inning. Nicholls totaled eight hits in the frame including two apiece by Erin Krause and Reagan Heflin. 

Nicholls put the run-rule into play with two runs in the third before going on to claim the nine-run victory in five innings.

Averi Paden notched the win, allowing two earned runs on six hits in 4.0 innings. She ran into trouble in the first when the Minutewomen loaded the bases with no outs, but she escaped by allowing just a single run.

The Colonels got the run back and another one when Molly VandenBout doubled with the bases loaded for a 2-1 advantage. The hit parade continued as Brynne Songy and Rylie Rutherford added RBI singles with an Abby Andersen sac fly in between. Samantha Gwiazda made it 6-1 with an RBI double before Krause and Heflin registered RBIs on their second hits of the inning.

In the second, Rutherford and Claire Sisco hit back-to-back doubles for a 10-1 advantage. Then both teams scored in the third with VandenBout coming through with an RBI single for the final run of the game.

Paden pitched a perfect fourth before freshman Katy Sanders closed it out in the fifth. 

Heflin was one of five Colonels with a multi-hit game, going 3-for-3 at the plate. Krause led the team with three runs scored while VandenBout had a team-high three RBIs.

ON DECK
Nicholls will make its home debut on Wednesday, Feb. 21 with a doubleheader against Alcorn. First pitch at Swanner Field is scheduled for 2 p.m.